Swedish Meatballs

Mmmmmmmmmm… Swedish Meatballs…

This has got to be one of my all time favorite ways to prepare meatballs and it's soooooo easy!!

Seriously, I don't care if you think you can't cook (or even if you're experienced) – trust me on this one… this recipe is guaranteed to please hungry tummies and it's practically fool proof.

Let's get this meatball party started, shall we?

Before we move onto the recipe, I just have to get this off my chest… I consider myself to be a frugal person, but I do have one weakness.

I'm completely obsessed with Ikea and those darn meatballs of theirs.

Anytime I go into an Ikea, I find myself with at least an armload (or two!) of new goodies for the kitchen PLUS a belly full of their delicious meatballs.

Does this happen to you? Please, tell me I'm not alone. 😉

And so, even though Ikea has some very reasonably priced home goodies and tasty food, there's nooo way I could go there to satisfy a Swedish Meatball craving every time! Ikea is just too tempting for me and I'm pretty sure if I stepped inside the store more often, they'd have difficulty keeping the place properly stoked. lol

My Swedish Meatball recipe is the answer to the problem!

I'm proud to say that this recipe creates an amazing flavor that's extremely close to the meatballs you can get in Ikea… dare I say maybe even better? 😀

Before we jump into the recipe, here are my secrets to making the most “knock your socks off” Swedish meatballs ever:

1. To get that amazing flavour in your creamy meatball sauce, it's best to cook the meatballs in a large frying pan rather than baking them or another method.
2. Once the meatballs are browned and temporarily removed from the pan, the tasty little brown bits on the bottom of the pan are scrapped up and combined with the butter and beef stock (aka deglazing the pan).  These browned bits are the key to the yumminess! Just make sure you don't burn the bottom of the pan – that will create the opposite of yumminess. ;P
3. If you like a lot of sauce, you may want to double or even triple the sauce ingredients for the recipe.
4. Make sure you give the sauce enough time to reduce and thicken up. Keep in mind that the times mentioned in the recipe are just guidelines – you may need more or less time depending on how thick you'd like the sauce to be.  The longer you let it reduce, the less extra sauce you'll have.
5. Be gentle with those meatballs! I recommend using a silicon spoon/spatula to stir the meatballs around in the sauce since it's more gentle than a metal spoon.

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Swedish Meatballs

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• Author: Michelle Dunster - DishesAndDustBunnies.com
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: About 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 pounds of meatballs (for best results use my recipe here and cook according to the instructions below)
• 1/4 cup butter, unsalted
• 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups of beef stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• pinch of salt (I didn't measure this but it was probably about 1 1/2 teaspoon)
• Pinch of ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

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Instructions

1. For best results please use my basic meatball recipe here and cook in a large frying pan.
2. Once you meatballs have browned on all sides, remove from the frying pan and place on a plate or cookie sheet lined with paper towel to help remove any excess oil.
3. Make sure that the heat under the frying pan is set to low for the next step.
4. Melt the butter in pan.
5. As the butter melts, use a metal spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. This is super important to do since it will give your Swedish meatballs an awesome amount of flavour!
6. To the pan, add the all-purpose flour and combine with the butter and browned bits using a whisk. Do this for about a minute or 2 so that it forms almost a “paste”.
7. Add a pinch of pepper and salt and then pour in the beef stock.
8. Increase the burner to medium high and combine everything in pan using the whisk. As you can to stir the gravy should begin to thicken up. The should take about 10 minutes.
9. Add the sour cream and combine using the whisk.
10. Return meatballs to the pan and gently coat them with the gravy. Be careful not to break you meatballs!
11. Continue to cook this on medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, gently stirring a few times.
12. Reduce the heat to simmer for about 5 minutes before serving.
13. Serve your Swedish meatballs with freshly cooked egg noodles, mashed potatoes or some fries.
14. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley

Notes

This recipe will make about 2 cups worth of gravy. If you'd like more gravy, please feel free to double the ingredients!

Traditionally, the Swedes enjoy their meatballs with lingonberry jam on the side. 😀

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Scandinavian